Nightmares
by Shadowwrite
Summary: Dean wakes up to Sam's screams, the sound never settling, and has to set things right. One-shot story, not set in a specific time, though when I wrote it I was in the middle of Season 2. Could possibly be a collection of one-shots/nightmare stories, though I don't really know. Protective!Dean


**Okay, hello. First of all, Thank you for coming here and reading this.**

**Second, I don't own any of the characters, I think I have to add that for reasons.**

**Third, please feel free to comment with whatever you want, and if you have any ideas, I'm completely open to them. Prompts, ideas, words, anything, I like to hear from you.**

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_3:05 a.m. _

Dean Winchester had been asleep for a little over an hour before he was forced out of a particularly pleasant dream and thrown back into reality; more specifically, a hard motel bed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. His body was on red alert as he sat up, knife pulled out from under his pillow as he looked around the room for signs of disturbance.

"Sammy, you okay?" He asked, his voice loud and edging on panic. With no reply and his brother's screams echoing in his head, Dean gripped his knife tighter and jumped out of bed, stumbling towards Sam's location

Sam was in bed, tossing and turning feverishly, still trapped inside his nightmare as his brother watched him, unsure of how to help. Dean bit his lip, letting the knife in his hand drop before placing two firm hands on Sam's shoulders, shaking him as he tried getting him to wake.

"Come on, Sam. Wake up!" Dean shouted, his grip on his brother tightening as he shook him a bit harder. He'd seen Sam plagued plenty of nightmares, but he had never seen one like this. Sam rarely ever screamed, and when he did, he woke up. After many long seconds Sam opened his eyes, gasping for air as he looked up at Dean with panic in his eyes. Dean took his hand and brought it to Sam's face, which was now covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Sam, it's Dean," he said quickly, trying to make sure his baby brother was okay, although it was clear that he wasn't. He was nearly hyperventilating and his eyes were scanning the dark room as if there was something after him. "You've got to calm down, man. It's alright."

Sam continued as he was for a few moments before meeting Dean's gaze, the man looking genuinely concerned if not slightly terrified. Sobering up a bit, he could feel his brother's hands on him, his actual, tangible hands. Raising an arm slightly to make sure if it was real, Sam extended his hand through the air, reaching Dean's cheek and grasping it tightly. _He was real, he wasn't dreaming anymore._

"D-Dean? He choked out, his voice hoarse and distant. Dean nodded, glad that Sam was at least able to speak.

"Yeah, Sammy, it's me," he answered, his voice quieter than usual in an attempt to keep his brother calm.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked quickly, sitting himself up and looking his brother over for signs of damage.

"Just fine, but—" Dean started before he was cut off, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. What was going on in Sam's mind? What could he have possibly been dreaming about?

"Not possessed?" Sam asked, looking closely into Dean's eyes.

"No."

"No angry spirits?"

"Not one. Sam—" Dean said, keeping his grip on his brother's shoulder, pressing him against the headboard as he tried to calm Sam down.

"Nothing's been here?" Sam continued, not paying attention to Dean's attempts at quieting him. "Nothings touched you, you're sure?"

Dean quickly took his hand and cupped it over Sam's mouth, maintaining eye contact as he started to speak, his voice raised out of frustration and concern. "I'm sure. Now dude, calm down. Nothing's here, everything's fine" he said, keeping his hand over his brother's mouth until he seemed to calm down.

Resting his head against the headboard, Sam continued to check around the room, trying to prove Dean wrong. He'd just been in a world where everything bad that could have happened did. He looked into the other's eyes, slowly gaining some reassurance from him. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths as he let a small tear roll down his face. He was alright, Dean was alright. Nothing bad had happened. He nodded his head slowly, pushing his brother away lightly. He took one more deep breath, the shaking subsiding to only his hands.

"Alright, I'm good now," he said weakly, putting on a brave face as he looked at his big brother in hopes he'd believe him. He'd be fine, there was no point in keeping Dean up worrying about him.

Dean studied the other for a few moments before nodding lightly, ruffling Sam's hair as he stood up. Keeping watch on his brother, Dean quickly turned on the television, knowing it was something Sam would often do to calm himself down after nightmares. He forced a small smile, lying back in his own bed and watching Sam until he fell asleep.

After a few hours of pretending to sleep, Dean was able to sit up in confidence that his brother was fast asleep. Getting up sometime around five thirty in the morning to pee, Dean noticed Sam had kicked off his bed sheets. The older of the two couldn't help but chuckle, taking the blankets and pulling them around Sam's body. Before returning to his bed to hopefully get a few more hours of rest, Dean ran his hand through Sam's shaggy brown hair, a small smile on his face now that the other seemed to be more content in his sleep.

"Sweet dreams, Sammy."


End file.
